


Formation

by emmagnetised



Series: All The Little Lights [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Multi, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, The Avengers Won, The Wyvern, Tony Stark's Sister, one shots, team fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 13:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18235646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmagnetised/pseuds/emmagnetised
Summary: The Avengers have been learning to live with each other again. But what happens when the mission alert alarm goes off?





	Formation

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise early update because it was my birthday over the weekend!
> 
> I'm stealing an idea from another writer - as a small birthday gift, it would be awesome if you could tell me your favorite moment in the Wyvern and why ❤
> 
> CW: Brief mention of animal abuse

 

It had been four weeks.

Four weeks of startling peace in which the bad guys of the world had apparently decided to take a breather, and the Avengers learned to live with one another and healed old wounds.

Maggie still got jumpy in crowds of people so the sudden influx of new residents was an adjustment, but it helped that she more or less liked all of them. They all seemed to know each other quite well, so it was up to her and Bucky to get to know those they hadn't met yet. Dr Banner, Wanda, Natasha, and even Sam and Steve were still relative strangers to Maggie. Natasha was so far proving the toughest to get to know, but Tony assured her that was normal.

One morning Maggie and Bucky sat on stools at the common area kitchen counter, nursing coffees. They were alone in the kitchen as it was about 0500 (nightmares, what can you do), placing bets on which Avenger they thought would be the first to walk in. Bucky's money was on Steve ("the punk goes for a run at 6 every morning, of course he'll be in first"), but Maggie had an ace up her sleeve – just the other day Dr Banner had confided in her that he liked to come in and eat breakfast before the rest of the Avengers, because things got hectic in the common room kitchen around breakfast time and a hungry Bruce Banner could very easily turn into a hungry Hulk.

But neither Steve nor Dr Banner came into the kitchen. Instead, just before 0600 the Avengers alert blared across the Facility. Bucky, unused to the flashing lights and booming alarm, was out of his seat and clutching a knife before Maggie managed to talk him down.

"It's just the mission alert!" she told him, one hand held up in the  _stand down_ signal. Bucky's eyes darted. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., kill the alarm in the kitchen." Once the sound cut out and the lights stopped flashing, Maggie ran a hand through her hair. "The… the analysts are still on duty, they must have flagged something."

Bucky's heaving chest started to slow. "A… mission alert?" He didn't put his knife away.

" _Crap_ ," Maggie hissed. "We never decided what everyone would do when this happened."

She met Bucky's eyes. In these past weeks of awkward getting-to-know-you conversations and breakfast routines she'd almost forgotten that she and her new neighbors were the most elite crime-fighting group in the world.

Bucky's gaze steadied. "What did you usually do when that alarm went off?"

She straightened, and took a breath. "Assemble."

 

* * *

 

Maggie's wings and uniform were stored in her moorings and in the bracelets she always wore, but Bucky needed gear. So they made a beeline for the Avengers hangar, which also housed the armory. And it seemed that everyone else had the same idea.

Without being told to, the Avengers had assembled. Natasha was already in the armory when they arrived, and tipped her head toward the case that held Bucky's uniform.

"Wanda's in changeroom 1," she murmured. "Barnes, you can use number 2."

Maggie slipped into the hangar itself to see Vision, Rhodey, and Dr Banner standing by the dormant Quinjet.

"Any idea of the situation?" she called, activating her bracelets so her red and black uniform slid out over her pajamas.

"There is an incident unfolding in Mexico," Vision replied. "Mr Stark and Captain Rogers are liaising with the analysts now."

"Okay," she breathed, and turned to Dr Banner. The man looked sleep-rumpled in sweatpants and a soft purple shirt. "Are you sure you want to come along, doctor?"

"I'm–" he broke off when the hangar door burst open to admit Sam, who took one bleary-eyed look at the group by the Quinjet and then ran into the armory. Banner continued: "I'm coming. We never really talked about what we'd do in these situations but I… I think I can help."

"I agree," she replied. "As Bruce Banner or as the Hulk, you can help. I'd say we'd be lucky to have either."

He gave her a small smile and ducked his head. Maggie decided to burn off her rising tension with a few stretches, and they waited for the rest of the Avengers to arrive.

 

Two minutes later everyone save for Steve and Tony stood around the waiting Quinjet, dressed in their uniforms (besides Banner). Romanoff had powered up the Quinjet, and the sound of its engines filled the hangar.

No one spoke. They'd all gathered here prepared for battle but no one acknowledged it – as if merely by speaking about the possibility, this semblance of a team would fall apart.

Maggie's heart was pounding.  _What if this is it_ , she wondered, her eyes darting from Avenger to Avenger. Bucky stood loose-limbed in his blue and brown uniform with his gun strapped across his back, but his eyes were wary. Maggie's gaze swept from him and across the others.  _What if this is what breaks us apart?_

At that moment the hangar door opened once more and Tony and Steve jogged in. Steve was in full Cap gear, and Tony wore a faded band t-shirt and sweatpants (though Maggie knew that in seconds the arc reactor could generate the Iron Man armor).

"We heading out?" called Sam, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We sure are, flyboy," Tony replied once they were close enough.

Steve nodded. "Let's get on the Quinjet," he instructed. "We'll plan once we're on the move."

 

They fit pretty well in the Quinjet together, with Rhodey and Natasha in the cockpit and the rest strapped into seats or standing in the main cabin. Maggie stood toward the back, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes sharp as she watched Steve and Tony.

They stood a few feet apart, seemingly focused but with small moments of hesitation: when Tony accepted the holo-call from Agent Asfour, Steve snapped his mouth closed as if he'd been about to say something. And when Steve reached for the holographic projection of Asfour's face and expanded it so all the Avengers in the Quinjet could see, Tony snatched his hand back as if he'd been stung.

Maggie's stomach flipped over.

"Morning, Avengers," Agent Asfour said, then plowed on without waiting for their replies. "Our analysts have flagged an unfolding situation in Mexico – there's a group attacking Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, law enforcement are on the scene but there's special circumstances which the Avengers are uniquely qualified to handle."

"Special circumstances?" queried Natasha from the cockpit.

"Weirdness," Asfour deadpanned. "We've had our eye on this group for a while. They call themselves the 'Itinerant Court', based on a migrating form of government that existed in Western Europe during the middle ages – this group's leaders claim that their ancestors were ancient rulers of Spain and France." She paused for a beat. "They're essentially a cult. Their goal is to recreate what they see as the golden years of the medieval period. They're from Arizona, but last month they relocated to Mexico. The move alarmed us, because much of their preachings talk about 'reclaiming' land that belongs to them–"

"They do know they're not in Western Europe, right?" interrupted Sam.

Asfour sighed. "I'm not saying it makes sense. They're a mess, but a dangerous mess. We've had trouble keeping an eye on them because they're notoriously secretive, but we  _do_ know that they've been training, and that they've been making weapons. And now they're attacking the heart of Mexico City and holding their own."

"Weapons?" asked Dr Banner.

"They're obsessed with blending medieval technology with modern tech – one of their leaders is a notable scientist, he had his research funding cut due to his extremist views. Intel on the ground suggests they're using medieval weaponry such as war hammers, maces, clubs, spears – and law enforcement is reporting  _ten_ trebuchets – but the weapons are enhanced somehow, we're seeing signs of long range electroshock weaponry, electrolasers, piezo-electric projectiles, energy dispersal devices–" Asfour went down her list of reported weaponry on scene, and Maggie watched the Avengers in the Quinjet trade confused glances.

She had just opened her mouth to maybe offer an explanation when Tony clapped his hands and said: "I think we've got it from here Asfour, talk soon love you bye!" and hung up on her.

Silence filled the Quinjet. Wanda rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

Sam put up his hand. "Okay, I didn't understand most of that."

Everyone looked to Steve and Tony, side-by side at the front of the jet. They looked at each other.

For a moment it looked like it would fall apart – no one really understood yet what they were about to do, no one had yet voiced the question ' _so are we a team?', a_ nd no one, apparently, had taken on the mantel of 'leader'.

But then Steve gestured to Tony. "Okay, tech. That's your area."

Tony nodded once, then spread his hands and started to explain.

He didn't start out strong. He began with "Basically their whole shtick is Renaissance Fair meets cyberpunk," and at least 50% of the Quinjet inhabitants stared at him as if he were speaking in tongues. Then he remembered his audience, and started to  _properly_ explain: he described the medieval war machines at play, and how the Itinerant Court had tricked out the weapons – electrical currents, energy pulses – to make them deadlier. He explained the danger that each weapon posed, what to be careful for, and how to destroy them.

"Okay," Rhodey said, scratching his head as he looked at the holographic map of Mexico City. Chapultepec Castle was a glowing red dot to the west of the city centre, and the Itinerant Court soldiers (because they were a small army, some hundreds of members) appeared on the map as a yellow mass spreading inward. "But what does that look like? How do we" –he gestured to the ten people in the Quinjet– "fight that?"

After another silent, awkward moment, Tony smirked and gestured to Steve. "Battle tactics. That's your area."

Steve  _smiled._ He'd been so serious and silent since he'd first shown up that morning that the smile made Maggie's eyes widen. But after that brief smile, as if to say  _I see what you're doing_ , the grim mask fell over his face again and he turned back to the team. "Well we know what the Itinerant Court want – they want Chapultepec Castle as a base for them to expand their 'empire' from. It's the only royal castle in all of South and North America so it's got symbolic meaning to them. Tactically" – he zoomed in on the holographic map – "the castle itself is in a very defensible position. They haven't taken it yet, but if they do we'll have a much harder time shaking them loose. So the plan is to defend the castle, while also taking out their war machines and rounding up their members for law enforcement to deal with." He glanced sideways at Tony, just for a second, and some kind of mutual understanding passed between them. Maggie cocked her head.

Steve cleared his throat. "We do have surprise on our side – no one's really expecting the Avengers at this point." He left the ' _everyone thinks we've broken up or died'_ unsaid. But the sentiment was clearly felt throughout the Quinjet, if the shuffled feet and awkward glances were anything to go by.

Then Tony said: "We've got a good old-fashioned Game of Thrones pitched battle on our hands," with the kind of glee he normally reserved for Christmas or explosions, and the tension broke.

Steve smiled again, if a little resignedly, and then laid out their plan. He started by outlining their defense of the castle, including cooperation with the staff and tourists still trapped inside (it was a museum now), and then spread to the outlying areas.

As he detailed strategy and handed out assignments, Tony chimed in. When new intel came in that the Itinerant Court were running three of their trebuchets with a computer program that targeted clusters of human body heat, Steve frowned and then said: "Okay, Vision–"

But Tony cut in with: "Vision needs to be on the other trebuchets, and Maggie'll actually be better at cracking that program. You could replace her with–"

"– Sam, right," Steve agreed, already nodding. "And who do you think for manning the entrance gates, here?"

Tony blinked once at being asked, then scratched his chin. "To be honest the civilians are going to be an issue there, but–" he turned, his focus zeroing in on Dr Banner (who had been quietly watching from his seat at the edge of the cabin). "Bruce, buddy, how are things with your green bedfellow?"

Bruce looked up owlishly. "Um… good, he's got a moral compass now… I think. But I'd still prefer not to work with civilians."

"Fair enough," Tony said. "Then probably Wanda for that area, she can keep an eye out for civilians and has the battering power to keep back the knights of the round table."

"Right, good call," Steve said, and continued handing out assignments. "Buck, you speak Spanish now right?"

Bucky nodded.

"I'm going to put you on the ground with law enforcement and armed forces – you can coordinate with them, go for the ground forces and make sure they don't surround the castle."

"He's not the only Spanish speaker," Tony piped up. Maggie stiffened. "There's like, at least five of us." He gestured to himself, Maggie, Vision, and Natasha.

Steve nodded once to acknowledge the point, then replied: "Bucky knows how to lead soldiers, and his skillset is better for ground-based close-range fighting." And then he waited. He didn't say ' _I've made the decision'_ , or ' _stop arguing, Tony'._ He just waited.

Maggie didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath until Tony tipped his head to the side and said "yeah, alright". She sucked in a sharp, quiet breath, and met Bucky's eyes. He had the audacity to  _wink_ at her. She scowled at him. Was she the only one who saw the fragile threads holding this whole thing together?

When Steve and Tony finished handing out assignments they were two minutes out from Mexico City. Steve turned away to speak to F.R.I.D.A.Y. about coordinating medical assistance on the ground, and Maggie sidled up beside Tony.

"Aww, you're co-parenting."

He punched her.

"Seriously though, it's good to see." She squeezed his arm and his scowl softened. "You're a good leader, Tony, and I'm glad he sees that."

Tony shrugged. "We've got different skills that work together. Like he, for example, has the skill of throwing himself headfirst into trouble without a second thought and somehow surviving. I, on the other hand, am very good at second thoughts."

Steve looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, as if he could sense what Tony was talking about.

"One minute," called Natasha from the pilot's seat. "Get ready for contact!"

Tony touched the arc reactor in his chest, and Maggie watched Iron Man materialize beside her. Around them, Avengers checked weapons and tightened uniforms. The plan was for Natasha to fly the Quinjet over the castle and they'd all jump out – the fliers outnumbered the non-fliers these days, so only Steve, Bucky, and Dr Banner needed a lift. Maggie was going to fly Dr Banner down to the automated trebuchets and get his help with those, and then he planned to Hulk out and defend the steep hillsides around the castle.

"Ready doctor?" she asked as Banner approached with his head ducked and his shoulders hunched, as if he was in the way.

He rubbed his hands together. "Last time I jumped out of a flying vehicle went terribly, so this can only be an improvement." He cleared his throat. "And I think at this point, you can call me Bruce."

She grinned. "Bruce. Call me Maggie."

"Maggie."

She beamed at him once more, then looked over her shoulder to find Bucky amongst the bustling Avengers. He was going to get a lift from Vision so the two of them were having a very efficient conversation about where he ought to be dropped, and at what velocity to cause maximum damage. But, sensing her gaze, Bucky looked over and their eyes met.

It was just a second, but it was enough. To acknowledge that they were going into battle once more by each other's sides. To wish each other luck, and to remind each other to be careful. To say  _I love you._ Maybe even  _you are my mission._

And then they looked away.

Maggie's gaze next slid to Tony, and she grinned. "Let's throw ourselves headfirst into trouble."

His faceplate slid down with a  _clink._ "Sounds fun."

 

* * *

 

Maggie had more or less gotten used to fighting with Tony, Rhodey, and Vision. But this was a completely different animal.

They all dove out the back of the Quinjet, and in the back of Maggie's mind a voice whispered  _oh, it's on._ They were a colorful, streamlined collection of dangerous-looking people, and they streaked through the sky with glowing repulsors, scarlet magic, and flared metal wings. The sight reminded Maggie of a meteor shower.

Mexico City was an incredible sprawl of houses and streets below them, the city clinging to the curvature of hills and mountains for miles around. A low layer of smog hung over the city to the east, and to the west Maggie could already see the signs of battle: smoke plumes, the distant black specks of running people, electric blue flashes of the Itinerant Court's weapons. The battle itself was centered around what looked like an oasis amidst the dense city – a wide forested area with a prominent hill on which sat Chapultepec Castle, which even from this distance was clearly a grand, pale stone structure.

And then… it was weird. The Avengers didn't speak, they just flew to their assigned tasks – Wanda, Sam, Rhodey, Steve, and Tony headed for the castle itself, while the others went to the castle extremities. Maggie soared down to her task, the three automated trebuchets, with her arms wrapped around Bruce's middle. He was tense, but thankfully didn't Hulk out.

On the road at the edge of the forest, Maggie and Bruce arrived at one of the trebuchets. It was a large steel structure that before their eyes shuddered and fired _,_ the long arm snapping forward to fling a glowing ball of some kind of electrical energy. Maggie watched the projectile arc through the sky and then impact something out of sight in the forest. A plume of flames and smoke went up, and Maggie thought:  _vehicle._

This trebuchet wasn't even guarded, so Maggie and Bruce got to work at its base, where a control panel accessed the targeting system.

As they worked Maggie kept half an ear on the comms system, but… nothing. She heard the occasional mutter of "over there" or "that one", but the Avengers weren't really  _talking_ to each other.

Maggie could tell that they were still very good and what they did – she heard distant explosions, gunfire, and electricity crackling, and the shouts of alarmed Itinerant Court soldiers (she decided to call them Courtiers, at least in her own head). But she felt isolated from the rest of the team, as if they were doing their jobs and she was doing hers, and they happened to be in the same area.

Combined, it took she and Bruce three minutes to crack the program for the three trebuchets on the road. Once they'd figured it out, Bruce took five big steps back and Hulked out.

Maggie allowed herself a moment of distraction because  _damn_ , up close that was some scary shit. Shuffling, mild-mannered Bruce just  _expanded_ , becoming a massive green behemoth with rippling muscles who roared so loud that the sound echoed off the nearby buildings and deafened Maggie from all sides.

Once he'd finished roaring, the Hulk turned on Maggie. Her every instinct screamed  _threat, run_ , but she stood her ground even though the effort made her legs shake. She met the Hulk's furious, beady eyes.

She swallowed and jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "I'm gonna… finish this up."

The Hulk grunted. "Okay." He knocked one fist against the tarmac and huffed, as if he couldn't decide what to do next.

Her eyes widened. "I think you were going to, um…" she tipped her head toward the distant sounds of fighting. "Smash?"

He grinned at her, the way he bared his teeth almost feral. "Smash," he agreed. And then with just the bunching of his muscles as a warning he leaped, soaring over the trees and into the heart of the forest.

Maggie blew out a breath and turned back to the trebuchet control panel, her heart pounding. Seconds later, just as she was powering down the trebuchets and messing up their programming so they couldn't be restarted, she heard the Hulk roar again. Screams followed.

"Okay," she breathed, stepping back. "Okay."

For a moment she thought about calling into the comms to ask Steve and Tony where she should go next – she'd completed her assigned task, what else was on the list? But then she just stopped, and  _listened._ She heard more intense fighting over the comms now; gunshots and electrical whines and grunts of pain. She tapped the side of her red goggles and brought up a holographic map of the area where the blue pins of the Avengers wove around the yellow masses of Courtiers.

The Avengers needed to get their act together. She took a few more seconds to read the situation, then flared her wings and leaped into the sky. "Falcon, Iron Man, I'm heading to your position. What do you need?"

Sam responded, irritation clear in his voice. "They've got aerial weapons – slings, catapults, I think I've seen a few tricked out arrows–"

"– Clint is going to be  _offended_ ," Tony cut in gleefully.

"– but the ones firing them are holed up in some kind of sniper's nest southwest of the castle, and I can't get close," Sam continued. "Think you can help out?"

"Anything for you," Maggie replied, and spiraled down into the trees.

 

As if that short conversation had broken some kind of vow of silence, it all started to fall into place. One by one, Avengers spoke up about their positions and what they needed, calling out warnings and suggestions and insults.

As Maggie took out the sniper's nest (no one ever expected the airborne enemy to walk through the front door), Tony mused: "Battering rams? Someone took the renaissance fair way too hard."

After taking out the nest Maggie rocketed into the sky and fell into the aerial defense with the other fliers – mostly Sam and Tony at this point, circling the castle and picking off the approaching Courtier hordes. The Courtiers themselves wore some kind of lightweight chainmail that deflected blades and glancing bullets, and most of them wore helmets. As she dove on one group and had to abruptly rear up when the group swung their glowing spears up to point at her, Maggie had the bizarre feeling that she was in some kind of medieval fantasy reenactment – she the dragon swooping out of the sky, they the knights fending her off.  _Well_ , she thought,  _it's not going to be a good day for the knights._

At one point she and Sam nearly ran into each other as they went after one group armed with electrified maces. They swore and apologized to each other, but after that near miss they seemed to fall into sync; they gave each other enough room to maneuver but stayed close enough to provide backup, moving quick and lithe around each other in the air.

On the ground the Hulk got distracted by a burning pile of ammunition; confused by the exploding, sparking mess and enraged by the noise. But as Maggie watched, Bucky slipped out of the trees and shouted " _hey_!"

Hulk whirled around with his shoulders heaving, and Maggie's stomach plummeted hundreds of feet to the sharp trees below. She unconsciously angled her wings, ready to dive in and snatch Bucky out of harm. But Bucky just pointed at one of the trebuchets in the middle of the forest, which fired a cluster of electrified shrapnel that broke apart above the castle and rained down, sparking and exploding. The Mexican flag atop the castle caught fire.

"Smash that," Bucky barked at the growling Hulk, as if he wasn't feet away from those heavy green fists.

And the Hulk obeyed. He gnashed his teeth and leaped again, landing on the trebuchet itself and digging his fingers into the frame. With a roar he  _pulled_ , and the metal crumpled with a shriek.

"Nice one," Maggie called to Bucky as she swooped over his head.

"What can I say, I've got experience dealing with hot-headed idiots."

After a few seconds of silence, Steve's voice rang out over the comms: " _Hey_."

As Maggie gained height again Rhodey called: "Wanda, stop holding back! Kick their asses."

As if in reply an immense scarlet bloom of magic erupted from the castle entryway, and Maggie saw shapes wearing chain mail go flying.

 

After a few wobbly minutes, the Avengers brought it all together and they  _clicked._ Maggie felt it – it wasn't just the comms connecting her to the others on her team. She knew where to fly and when they needed her, knew when to weave and when to fire, and knew what Sam intended when he said "They can see us coming a mile away, but if we stop thinking of the castle as a defensive point and instead as something to hide behind…" And Rhodey understood as well, apparently, because the three of them dove in unison and lost themselves behind the bulk of the castle, in the thick trees on the hillside, and then rocketed out above a group of unprepared Courtiers.

Maggie stopped worrying about who was where because she could sense it – partly from the readout on her HUD, partly from updates over the comms, and partly from instinct. She didn't dive east to head off a group of burly Courtiers wielding war hammers because she knew that Steve and Vision were waiting to ambush them around the corner. Instead she cut west and dogged the Hulk's trail of destruction, picking off the Courtiers who'd hidden from the raging green giant. Rhodey arrived just in time to help her take out a larger group of Courtiers with energy slings.

Natasha left the Quinjet on autopilot and asked for a lift, and Maggie was already there to scoop her out of the back of the jet and bring her down. She dropped her right in the middle of a knot of soldiers and watched the Black Widow work.

On the road leading up to the castle, Bucky and his band of law enforcement and armed forces called for air support and she dove in. They fought together for five intense minutes, as in sync as they ever were as the Wyvern and the Winter Soldier – ground and sky as one. They even did the thing they used to do where Bucky would retreat, drawing his enemies in to a group in front of him, then Maggie would swoop in and crash through them with the hard edges of her wings.

"D'you think these guys realize that people in the 'golden age' they're trying to recreate had an average life span of like thirty years?" Tony mused.

"D'you think they realize that  _machine guns_ don't count as medieval weapons?" responded a very annoyed Sam.

A trebuchet projectile crunched into one of the castle turrets and the structure wobbled. Tony rocketed towards it and caught the turret, using nanotech boosters to give him the extra thrust to keep the structure upright. He had barely gotten through calling Maggie's name before she was there, spraying specially-designed nanotech structural foam to reinforce the caved-in base. When the foam solidified and the turret was secure she and Tony went after the trebuchet.

It didn't last long. Tony brought out the literal big guns - his detached nanotech energy cannons - and blasted the trebuchet while Maggie swooped, formed the nanotech spike ball out of the end of her heel spurs and smashed the trebuchet to smithereens.

"How's  _that_ for a medieval weapon?" Tony crowed.

Soaring away from the obliterated trebuchet and over the fighting in the forest, Maggie caught a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye and turned just as Steve's shield came flying out of the canopy of trees, spinning wildly. She twisted, snatched the Vibranium disc out of the air, then tossed it down at a group of Courtiers in the forest below. It ricocheted and knocked down three of them before it rebounded back into Steve's hand. Maggie veered away, savoring the brief grin he'd flashed up at her.

It turned out the Itinerant Court had brought an elephant. Apparently they were calling it their 'war elephant', and they'd kitted it out with armor, spikes, and a box on its back filled with archers. The poor thing was terrified and angry, but any time the Avengers got close the Courtiers jabbed the elephant and it flailed, its weaponized tusks keeping any potential rescuers at a distance.

Maggie tried to swoop down to knock off the archers, but a trebuchet projectile exploded right in her path. She'd have been toast if it wasn't for Wanda, who twister her hands and created a glowing red chute right through all the debris. Maggie zipped through the chute and out the other side with her heart in her mouth.

In the end Rhodey managed to knock off most of the archers with a well-aimed unibeam, but the elephant itself was saved by the Hulk. The Hulk physically picked up the terrified animal and carried it off, to both the Courtiers and the Avengers' bewilderment. They later found out that he had brought the elephant to the nearest river to calm it down and give it something to eat and drink.

The Avengers were alarmingly good at their jobs. Aside from their rocky start and a few small hiccups, they came together as if they'd been fighting together their whole lives. Maggie felt sharp, precisioned, in tune with her teammates as she cut through the air and swooped on the chain-mailed Courtiers. Her ears echoed with the Avengers' steady stream of comms discussion, the whining Courtier weapons, and the  _crunch_ and shriek of trebuchets being torn apart.

It ended when Steve and Rhodey ferreted out the leaders (who'd been hiding in some kind of armored carriage) and arrested them. Within a few minutes the rest of the Itinerant Court had surrendered. And it was over. Chapultepec Castle was mostly in one piece, the civilians had been kept safe by Wanda's fierce defense of the castle gates and Tony and Natasha's careful supervision, and the city was safe.

 

* * *

 

The Avengers stayed for the cleanup. They carried injured people to the waiting medics, cleared broken building and trees, and escorted the Courtiers to law enforcement. They stayed for hours. Then enough Avengers relief forces (thank you, Pepper) had arrived and made the actual Avengers mostly useless, so they headed back to the parked Quinjet and collapsed into their seats.

Maggie took a moment to cast an eye over the – over  _her_ team. Everyone was pretty much okay, a little banged up but in one piece. Bruce was basically unconscious, but apparently that was normal after a Hulk-out. Wanda had a nasty cut on her forehead but it had already been stitched up and she seemed more concerned with getting into the rations cupboard.

Maggie and Bucky slumped side-by-side, his head on her shoulder and her cheek on his head. They were usually PDA-phobic, but after that mission they needed each other's touch.

Maggie turned her head slightly so she could see out the back of the Quinjet, and spotted Steve and Tony a few hundred feet away. They walked side by side, speaking lowly. Steve's shield was mounted on his back, and Tony had dissolved the armor so he was left in his rumpled band t-shirt and sweatpants. They made an odd pair: the tall, uniformed soldier and the tinkerer with flailing hands, but in Maggie's eyes it seemed as if for the first time they stood on equal ground.

As the two strode up the ramp and into the Quinjet, the Avengers turned tired eyes on them.

Steve nodded to them all, his shoulders straight. "Alright, everyone. Let's head home."

In the cockpit, Romanoff closed the ramp and fired up the engines.

As they took off, Maggie heard Wanda sigh unhappily from beside her. She turned and cocked an eyebrow.

Wanda saw her looking. "Debrief," she murmured, nodding toward Steve still standing tall and determined at the back of the Quinjet. "I forgot we used to do this. Right after each mission we'd go over all the details and fill out all the paperwork. I know it's good to get the details when we're fresh, but…"

Steve cleared his throat, and everyone looked up again. "We'll, uh… we'll do the debrief back at the Facility, once we've all showered and eaten." He glanced sideways at Tony. "I'm reliably informed that there will be beer."

There was a collective chuckle at that, and Maggie turned to Wanda. "Looks like change is in the air."

"I suspect that might have something to do with our new leadership structure," Wanda replied with a smile.

Maggie looked back to see Steve clap Tony on the shoulder and grin. He said something to Tony, so low that no one else heard, but Maggie read his lips:  _We did it._

She let out a breath. "I think this is going to work."

Bucky hummed against her shoulder.

Wanda pulled off her boots and sighed. "I think it's already working."

 

* * *

 

Back at the Facility, they debriefed over food and beer. All the paperwork got done correctly thanks to Steve's attention to detail and the Facility staff helping things along, and… it was finished. Mission over. A resounding success.

Tony reeled out dozens of medieval-themed jokes that he hadn't had time to squeeze in during the mission until everyone begged for mercy, and half of them fell asleep on the nearest flat surface.

And if the headlines the next day were anything to go by, Maggie wasn't the only one letting out a breath of relief.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! The next one shot is what a lot of people have been waiting for!  
> Sneak peek:
> 
> "Barnes." Tony's voice was casual and acknowledging, almost like a… like a greeting.
> 
> Bucky's head snapped up, his eyes wide, and Tony nodded at him.
> 
> For a good minute of silence Bucky just stared. Tony watched him from across the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for his coffee to finish brewing.
> 
> Then Bucky's brain kicked back into gear. "Sta- Tony." The name he'd settled on twisted up at the end, as if in a question.
> 
> Tony didn't look like he knew the answer.


End file.
